Pedasi Carnival 2023

Carnival is a blow out party lasting for the full four days before Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. This is the first carnival held in Pedasi since pre Covid, and our first ever. There were parades showcasing the carnival queens held daily at noon…ish and after dark (any time up to midnight or later). Lots of music and food. And people. And fireworks. And water.

This sleepy little town was anything but sleepy! I have seen the town square quite busy a couple of times, but nothing like this.

To decide on queens, the town is divided into two sections with the main street running through town the dividing line. Calle Arriba (Upper Street) and Calle Abajo (Lower Street). A queen is chosen from each area on Friday evening, then the queen and her attendants parade through a route twice each day. Amazingly enough the floats are changed for every parade, both for morning and night, with a different theme.

The costumes are incredibly detailed. A local lady told us both Calle Arriba and Calle Abajo have a board, parents present their daughters to the boards and somehow the boards decide who will be the queens.

Behind each queens float there is a band, mostly trumpets and drums, and a large crowd of people, the queens court.

Daryl and I are living just a few minutes walk to where Calle Arriba floats were organized. On day 2 we thought we would walk over to see the start of the parade. We saw a lot of people hard at work dismantling yesterdays float and putting together new ones!

New floats and new costumes for day 2. It was impossible for me to capture the floats adequately as all four sides are fabulously decorated and there was people everywhere.

It was incredible hot and there were hundreds of people milling about on paved streets. The heat radiates. One sure way to stay cool was to be sprayed with water. If you went to the square you could expect to get wet. There were several tanker trucks located around the square and they were constantly spraying water over the heads of people. The first time the water hit me it was a bit of a shock, but felt so good. A lot of the little kids, and not so little, had water guns. You could expect to be sprayed.

Day 3 was just as spectacular as previous days. Daryl and I watched most of the parade from Main Street. Just as many people and no water.

Be difficult to get any closer than this 🙂

The queens and entourage are incredibly beautiful, but for some it is just a hard days night!

Once a float is finished for that round, the costumed ladies are readily available to have their pictures taken. And look at those shoes! After standing on the float for an hour or more, it amazes me that they are still able to walk.

Day 4. The last parade is starting. It is just as spectacular as the first.

There is just as much detail and decoration on the back of the parade as on the sides and front.

I would not even hazard a guess as to how many people were in the square and surrounding area during the four days of carnival. The ambulance was close to the square, ready in case needed. I never saw it move. There were police everywhere, we saw one minor altercation when someone threw a pop can that struck another person. The police were right there. With all the heat, there were four water tankers in the square that were constantly spraying. Sure kept people cool.

The other thing I found quite interesting was the number of cans thrown on the ground during the parades. Go back as soon as the crowd had cleared up, and not a can to be found.

The last evening of carnival there was no parade with floats, and queens with entourage. Instead, at dusk, or there about, the townsfolk did a parade around the square and beyond. The ladies were dressed in traditional dresses, called polleras, With the men wearing white shirts and dark pants. Everyone either wore a hat or really fancy beaded hairpieces, called tembleques. Everyone was included, fancy dresses and less fancy, older to very young.

Sometimes you need a hand to get the pose just right. Hold the dress out and point your toe.

When you can see shoes peeking out under the dresses, almost everyone has shoes that match something on their dress.

With each circle around the designated area, the crowd grew, and danced the entire time. Daryl and I watched for quite a while, then went for dinner. Well, afterwards there were even more people dancing as they circled the square.

We were taking pictures of this lovely family and they invited us to be in the picture. How could we refuse! The statue behind us is of a previous President, who is from Pedasi